Chapter seven
Ana
I followed Christian in silence to the front room where everyone else had gathered as we all sat with the same solemn expressions. Cillian was the first to break the silence as he paced the floor pulling on his long hair. "How the fuck did we not know that Siobhan had been killed? Surely, we would have heard about this before now. Why did Byrne not say anything?"
"I don't fucking know." Christian was holding onto me as if his life depended on it and I had to admit right now I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I had been somewhat morbidly excited about hurting Isabelle and Gino and now someone else was going to get our revenge and I wasn't sure why that thought upset me so much.
After all, they were still going to die for what they had done and they would still suffer. So, shouldn't I be relieved that we didn't need to deal with the aftermath of killing them? But then there was the fear about if killing Gino and Isabelle would be enough for this Byrne they may still come after us next. They may not even wait to get Gino and Isabelle for all we know when they get here it may be to kill us all and I for one do not want to be hiding while the man I love and the father of my children gets killed.
"I'm not being sent away. I'm not hiding." Everyone turned to me as soon as the words came out.
"Ana…"
"No, Christian. I'm sorry but I'm not hiding away while you risk your life. I may not know much about your lifestyle but I'm guessing that once we come out of hiding it's only a matter of time before they come for us. I won't… no, I can't do this without you by my side. You brought me into your life, Christian. I will not run and hide at the first sign of trouble. If my days are numbered then I'm going with you."
"No Ana, you are not going to be here when they get here. End of fucking story." I pulled my hand from Christian and felt my body shaking with anger.
"What are you going to do Christian? Drug me? Force me? Tell me Christian how do you think it will end this time if you survive? Do you think I will forget it and go on like nothing happened? Do you think I will become your wife? Or do you think I will pack my stuff and leave? Because I can promise you if you try anything like that I won't be here after it."
"You would leave me and take my child?"
"I won't be in a relationship that takes all my choices away from me. As for your child, I would never do that. You will just never be with me again. How do you think I will handle life knowing that you're dead? How do you think Mia will feel, or Jessica, and Alice? You all made us fall in love with you to the point that no other man will ever be good enough. You made us love you to the point that we don't know how to breathe without you. Yet, you all expect us to hide away while you all put your lives on the line and then if you die, we are supposed to get on with our lives without you."
Tears were streaming down my face with each angry word I spoke. "What do you think will happen when you are gone and Mia is left as the head of your company? She will be the first one that they come for. Or what do you think will happen when they realize I am pregnant with another ayre to your 'throne'? I will be next on their hit list. Alice and Jessica may survive but I can promise you Mia and I won't."
I watched as the realization of what I had just said hit everyone as each of the men clenched their jaws and fists. I placed my hand gently on Christian's cheek and turned his head to face me.
"Splitting us up is pointless. Not to mention the heartbreak of knowing that you are all gone could and likely would cause a lot of stress on my pregnancy." I reached up on my tiptoes and pressed my lips against his. "Christian, I don't want to live without you in the world."
"I don't want anything to happen to you." There was so much pain in Christian's voice and it broke my heart.
"Ana's right, Christian. If you die, they will come for us next, if not Byrne, then someone else because whoever takes us out gets our empire. We are in just as much danger as we are if we are apart." I saw the unshed tears in Mia's eyes because we knew deep down there was a strong possibility that Byrne could end us all.
Our silence was broken by Carla's voice from the door ending any debate about this. "They want everyone there for the meeting, even the women. They don't want to be caught by surprise and they know that Mia knows how to fight back. They will be here in the morning at nine. I will leave you all to it I have arrangements to make Christian make sure you have plenty of security. While they have yet to show their hand when it comes to us, we can't risk anything. I have things to do. I will be back early tomorrow."
Carla whizzed out of the room as fast as she had arrived.
"Fuck!" Now it was Alesso's turn to pace and pull at his hair and I knew why. Unlike Mia, Jessica, and Myself, Alice was afraid of this life and the violence that comes with it and she would have to be there for this meeting.
I watched numbly as Arturo poured several strong drinks and handed them to everyone apart from me and Mia and I envied them so much because I would love anything to take the edge of the fear I was feeling.
Alesso, Arturo, Cillian, Luca, and Christian spent hours going over everything they would need for security as men walked in and out of the house with equipment that was set up everywhere.
I had fallen asleep on the sofa at some point and woke up a little while later to the aroma of ginger tea and toast but the second I sat up my stomach rolled and I had to run to the bathroom which I made just in time to empty my stomach. I washed my face and brushed my teeth just as Christian entered the bathroom.
Christian wiped my hair off my damp forehead. "Are you okay, princess?" I couldn't miss the worry in his voice and I hated it.
"I'm okay, it would seem our little one isn't a fan of mornings." I yawned and rested my head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. "What time is it?" Christian stiffened and I knew that it was nearly time and my stomach rolled again but this time I managed to control it.
"It's 8.30 am they'll be here soon." I pushed away from Christian ready to run upstairs and get changed. "Relax, princess. You look fine in what you're wearing. I'm hoping they won't be here too long and then you can relax in a nice hot bath." Christian kept me wrapped in his strong arms but I could hear the worry in his voice no matter how much he tried to hide it.
I took in a deep breath mustering all the courage I could before pulling out of his arms and smiling up at Christian. "I could really use that tea and toast now if it's okay?"
Christian leaned down and kissed my forehead making me grip his waist tighter as I fought back the tears that threaten to spill down my cheeks as I thought about what could happen today and what I could lose. I tried desperately to fight the tears but I lost the battle and Christian must have felt them wetting his shirt because he gently pulled me away from him so he could look at my face.
"Hey, what's going through that beautiful head of yours?"
"I don't want to lose you. I can't lose you. Can't we just run? All of us could run." Christian used his thumb to gently wipe the tears from my face and I leaned into his touch. I knew that what I was asking was impossible but it still didn't stop my disappointment when I saw the resolve in Christian's face.
"You know we can't, princess. Trust me if we could we would have left last night but if we ran things would be so much worse."
"I know. It was worth a try." I gave Christian a small smile as he pulled me out of the bathroom and back to the front room where fresh toast and tea were waiting for me.
I sat down and Christian handed me the tea and we fell into a comfortable silence me eating and drinking my tea and Christian answering emails and messages. That was until everyone else entered the room and I saw the fear on Alice's face. She looked beyond terrified and all I wanted to do was hide her away and protect her. Unlike the rest of us who had taken to this life quite well, she hadn't and here she was being thrown into the deep end.
Christian stood and walked over to his brothers, Cillian and Luca while Alice sat beside me visibly shaking. "Sweetie, Are you okay?"
"No, I'm terrified. I have people that depend on me. Are they going to be safe? After these people come for us will they go for our families or even worse will they go for them before they come for us? I'm scared for us but I'm more scared for them. Why is this happening? We didn't set off that bomb so why are we involved? Why can't they leave us alone?" Alice's voice rose the more hysterical she became and I couldn't blame her. These had been questions I had thought of myself.
Alesso walked over to Alice and dropped to his knees in front of her. "Listen to me, piccolo. Byrne wants Gino and Isabelle and we are going to give them to him. We are giving him what he wants and because of that, he will leave us alone. We have people watching and protecting all of your families. We won't let anything happen to them."
I knew that what Alesso was saying wasn't entirely true because we weren't sure that they didn't blame us for what happened, therefore, we couldn't be sure that we weren't targets but Alesso managed to fool Alice because she wasn't shaking as much or crying as much.
A few minutes later security came into the room to inform us that Cian Byrne had arrived my heart dropped and I grabbed Alice's hand in mine squeezing it reassuringly. "Okay, we will go to the meeting room and bring them in there. Come, princess." I stood on shaky legs as Christian pulled me through the house to the one room I hadn't been in since I was given the house tour.
The room we were in was huge with a giant oval table in the middle easily big enough to seat at least thirty people, there was one wall filled with what I presumed were antique pictures and the other was a wall of glass lending the sunlight to make up for the dark furniture.
"Is that window safe?" Surely considering the threat that we were facing I didn't think sitting in a room that was so exposed was such a good idea.
"It's bulletproof. Don't worry." Christian walked us both to the end of the room and seated us at the head of the table while everyone else took their seats on either side of us. It was a good place for us to sit because no one could sneak up behind us and it made me feel a little safer.
My whole body shook a little when Mark walked in and announced Cian Byrne's arrival and when he walked in I has to hold back my gasp. I don't know what I had expected, but it seemed the men I had met so far in this lifestyle were neatly dressed in suits with perfect hair, but the man that walked in looked more like a terrifying Viking.
He was terrifying and beautiful at the same time. He was massive even compare to Christian and his brothers he looked like a giant, with long red hair shaved at the side and tied black in a long French plait and a long red beard that was also plaited. The red of his hair made his pale grey eyes stand out and they were so stunning even though they looked like he wanted to kill us all with his bare hands.
I took in what he was wearing and once again compared to Christian and his brothers who were dressed in suits like this was a business meeting Cian was wearing a tight black shirt that looked like it was going to rip any seconding thanks to his massive muscles. The black jeans he wore clung to every muscle as he walked into the room. He was definitely someone people would take a second or third look at as he passed them in the street and not just because he was terrifying and screamed danger but also because he was insanely hot.
Cian took in everyone with a look of disdain and violence before they landed on me then Mia and it was only then I realized we both had our hands on our stomachs instinctively wanting to protect our unborn babies.
I had been so nervous that I hadn't noticed Mia and Jessica had entered the room and we smiled nervously as Cian and his men took their seats. "Christian, Carla, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you but considering the fact that myself and my family have been dragged into whatever war you have been involved in and I am grieving the loss of my only child I would be lying."
The bitterness in Cian's words sent a shiver down my spine. "Have you made your decision on what you are going to do with the fuckers that killed my daughter?" Christian gave my hand a quick squeeze and a reassuring smile.
"Cian, I am so sorry for your loss. We had no idea this would happen. If we had we would have brought them straight to you."
"Save your pity for my wife who hasn't left our bedroom since our daughter was murdered and hasn't stopped crying. She has to be forced to eat and drink. Do you know what that is like? To feel so hopeless that you can't do anything to help the woman you love and to know that you have to bury your only child."
"I can only imagine your pain and we had no idea what was going to happen if we did, we would have had more security."
"You knew Gino would want revenge, did you not?"
"Well, yes, but…"
"So, you knew he would be looking for any opportunity to take what you loved most, did you not?" When Cian said this he looked at me and I wanted to shrink into Christian but I couldn't show any weakness.
"Yes, I did, but I just like you cannot predict the future. We didn't start this fight, Cian and while I understand your pain there is nothing that I can do other than hand over the people responsible for what happened to your daughter, which I am more than happy to do. While myself and my family would have loved nothing more than to torture those fuckers and watch them die slowly for what they tried to do to my sister, my future wife and the women my brothers and Cillian are in love with. I understand what was done to you was infinitely worse."
"What did they try to do?" Cian took a seat and rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers under his chin as he waited for an answer.
"They…"
"No, I want your future wife to answer, and I want details," Christian growled low in his chest and squeezed my hand so tight that it almost hurt. I knew that Christian had hoped that we would be able to hide in the background and have just the men talking but Cian had other ideas.
I hated this so much because I hadn't gone to much in detail about what happened knowing that it would hurt Christian too much. I took one last deep breath and looked down at my hands before I began to talk which Cian didn't seem happy with.
"Look at me, not your hands. I want to see the truth in your eyes."
I did as I was told, refusing to look anywhere but Cian's eyes "Gino locked us in a room but took me into a separate room where he tied me to a chair and strapped my legs into stirrups." I faltered as the night came rushing back to me making me shake.
"Carry on."
"Gino had scissors and he cut my dress from my body and then my underwear until I was completely naked."
"Did he speak to you while he was cutting your clothes off?" I hated Cian for making me go through this with everyone listening.
"Yes." My voice was quiet but had an edge of the anger I was feeling."
"What did he say?"
"He said that he wanted to know what it was that had Christian hooked and that maybe after a taste he would want to keep me. He said I could be his whore." I felt the bile rise in my throat but wanted to get this over and done with.
"Carry on."
"He ran his hands over me touching me everywhere. I tried to get away but I couldn't move. He kept saying that he liked my curves and that he might keep me so that he could use me as he pleased. He said I was dry and that he was going to make me…come like Christian never could. He kissed me and said that by the time Christian found me I would be covered in his men's cum and that they liked to be rough so there would be blood. He said it would be quite the sight for Christian to find me in."
"Then what happened?"
"Jessica snuck into the room and knocked Gino unconscious and shot the locks that held me down to the table. A few seconds later, Gino's men ran into the room with Mia and Alice."
"So, Gino didn't get what he wanted from you?"
"No."
"You're lucky. I have heard of what Gino and his men do to women and believe me it's not pretty and it is the definition of sexual torture. Tell me, Ana, did you want to reap revenge personally, or were you happy to watch?"
I decided to be honest because there was no point in lying now. "I wanted to hurt them both myself as well."
"Have you ever taken a life before, Ana?"
"No, never."
"Would you have taken Isabelle's or Gino's if I had let you get your revenge?"
"No, I was leaving that up to Christian and the others. I just wanted to hurt them because of what they did to us."
"What does the thought of taking someone's life make you feel?"
"I understand the lifestyle you all live but I have never killed anyone, nor, have I ever wanted to." Gino raised his brows but said nothing as he looked around the table until his eyes landed on a timid-looking Alice.
"What about this beauty, who is trying so desperately to hide in the shadows?"
"No, she doesn't want to and has never hurt let alone killed anyone. She isn't involved in our lifestyle." Alesso sounded like he was on the verge of climbing over the huge table and lunging at Cian. That was until Christian stood up pushing his seat back with force as he did.
"The women are not to be involved in this."
"My wife is involved. My daughter is dead because of this. It's only fair that two of your women should be involved. I am offering you the chance to walk away from this, all of you. I will do all of the torture I will even allow you all to be involved but when it comes to taking their lives that will be left up to Your woman, Christian, and your woman, Alesso. The choice is yours but if you say no then things will become ugly."
My heart sank more for Alice as I watched her horrified eyes move around the room as if she was going to find someone who could make this situation go away but there was no help, only silent resignation.
"I will do it instead of Alice. I have never killed anyone before, so I am just as good as Alice." Jessica sounded desperate but I couldn't miss the blood lust in her eyes and it would seem neither did Cian.
"Ah, no, I am sorry dear. I can see the bloodlust written all over your face. You would enjoy killing them and that will never do."
"Ana is pregnant, the stress of this could hurt the baby." Jessica sounded like she was ready to fight anyone until she realized that she had confirmed what I already knew, they knew.
"Congratulations to you both, but it doesn't change anything. The deal is Alice, and Ana are the ones to end their lives. I think considering the circumstances this is your best-case scenario, don't you agree?"
"Look, I've never killed anyone nor have I ever wanted to, but I will kill them both just leave Alice out of this, please. I will do anything."
"Okay, if I allow you to be the one that ends their lives then you pick someone around this table that is on your side to join Gino and Isabelle."
"You mean kill them?" I felt sick.
"Torture and kill, Ana."
Alice shocked us all as she stood so abruptly from her chair that she knocked it over and she slammed her hands down on the table as a look of resolve spread across her face.
"I'll do it." Alesso tried to stop her but she pulled her hand away. "I won't let anyone I love die. "My Byrne, I am truly sorry for your loss and I can't imagine what you and your wife are going through. I also know that the need for revenge in this lifestyle trumps all logic. So, I will do this but I need to know that once this is done that we will not be in any danger."
I watched Cain tilt his head as his eyes roamed up and down Alice's body and suddenly, I wanted to hide her away from him but I was proud when Alice stood up straighter and refused to look away from him.
"I have to say if it wasn't for the circumstance that has brought me here, I would be congratulating you on the incredible women you all seem to have found." Cian continued staring at Alice and she held his gaze for a few more minutes before Cian gave Alice a small smile and then clapped his hands grabbing all of our attention away from the silent standoff.
"Right, take me to the fuckers. I want to see how much pain we can inflict before they meet their fates." We all stood and I walked over to Alice and grabbed her hand.
"It's going to be okay. We just have to remember what they were going to do to us and what they would gladly do if we let them go. They aren't nice people, Alice." I was whispering because I didn't want Cian and his men to hear us and think that we were weak.
"I know what they would have done and I know what they would still do but this is murder. They are making us murder them."
"If they were untied and coming for us with a knife to kill us, would you kill them to save your life or Alesso's life?"
"Yes."
"Then just know that is what you will be doing because you just said if they weren't tied down, they would kill us in a heartbeat. They deserve what is coming to them and we have no choice it's Isabelle and Gino or us."
Alice let out a shaky breath and nodded in acceptance as we followed behind the others and made our way to the basement. Christian used his thumb to unlock the door and Alice's hand tightened on my hand reminding me that this was the first time she would see what had been done to Isabelle and Gino. "It's okay, honey. Just remember they deserve this."
Alice and I made our way down the stairs in silence and when we reached the bottom Alice pulled on my hand like she wanted to escape. "We have to be strong, Alice." Cian pulled out two seats and placed them in front of Gino and Isabelle gesturing for Alice and I to take a seat which we did without hesitation.
"Hmm, seems like you've had a lot of fun with these two but not enough for my liking. Whose idea was the Judas cradle?"
Mia stepped forward proudly. "That would be my idea." It was only then when Cian smiled that I knew that he held some affection for Mia and maybe the rest of the family which made me sad that this situation had created such a rift.
"I don't know how I didn't guess. You have always been brutal when it comes to torture. Have you had the pleasure of using it yet?"
"No, I was hoping to use it for the first time on these fuckers but I guess that's up to you now." Mia sounded so disappointed which Cian seemed to notice.
"Who would you have used it on?"
"I don't know. I only got it yesterday and then we found out what happened to…well you know?"
Cian's jaw clenched but he forced a smile on his face. "Okay, so now, who would you choose?" Mia took in the pathetic fucks in front of us who were desperately trying to get out of their restraints with no luck.
"Gino." I turned to Mia who was smiling wickedly at Gino who looked horrified and then to Cian whose smile had widened.
"Why him?" Cian never took his eyes off Gino.
"Well, given the chance he would have brutally raped Ana and he would likely have done the same with us not to mention he would have allowed his friends to do the same no matter how much pain it would have caused us. So, why not let him feel the kind of pain we would have felt?"
Whilst I hate Gino I kind of felt a little sorry for him as Cian gestured for his men to unlock Gino from his chair after Christian gave them the keys and stood beside my chair placing his hand protectively on my shoulder.
Isabelle turned as much as she could in her chair and screamed around her gag as Cian's men stripped Gino of his clothes and positioned him over the point of the Judas cradle, and as they lowered Gino onto the device his screams became deafening.
I watched morbidly fascinated as Gino's arms were tied behind his back and the device was moved so that a metal hoop could be locked around his waist and rope was attached to the hoop and hooks in the walls to hold him in place. The last part was to tie his feet using more rope that once more attached to hoops on the walls.
It looked like it was causing the most pain I could ever imagine and the second I saw blood dripping from Gino's ass that was when I had to look away before I was sick. It was horrific. I flinched when I heard more screaming as something hit flesh and when I opened my eyes, I saw that Mia now had a leather whip in her hand with wicked-looking metal hooks that were tearing through Gino's back.
"Be careful, Gino. Every time Mia hits you and you move that thing will go deeper." Cian sounded very amused but I couldn't hide my frown wondering why he was allowing Mia to torture him instead of doing it himself. I hadn't realized that Cian must have seen me frowning because he coughed to get my attention.
"Is there something wrong, Ana?" My eyes shot to his as I shook my head.
"No, it's just that I thought you would want to be the one who tortures them."
Cian smiled and came over to stand on the other side of my chair as he leaned casually against the wall with his massive arms folded across his chest. "While I love nothing more than some good old-fashioned torture, I also hate to get my hands dirty. The more pain that is inflicted on these fucked the better but it doesn't mean I have to be the one to carry out the torture watching is just as much fun."
"So, this isn't going to mean that you are still looking for revenge against us?"
"As long as Isabelle and Gino suffer, I am sure that's all the revenge I need." Our discussion was interrupted by Jessica holding up something metal and terrifying. It looked like two forks attached at the top and the prongs were bent inward.
"What's this?"
"It's called the breast ripper, or the spider." I winced at the name but Jessica's eyes lit up as she took in the terrified expression on Isabelle's face
"We can leave this one for last. Don't want her dying too early." I was becoming a little worried about this side of Jessica but I was also thankful that she loved me enough that I would never be facing this side of her.
Jessica put it back where she found it and pulled out another device that was like two long wooden blocks with large screws holding the blocks together and six very sharp pointed teeth on either side. It looked like a demonic mouth.
"What about this?"
"Arturo, Cillian you sure have found your soulmate. Jessica that is what is called a knee splitter." Cian held his hand out for the device making Jessica sulk and me once again frown at my best friend.
"Allow me to show you what it does." Cian pulled out a knife from his back pocket and cut up each side of Isabelle's trouser legs until they fell to the sides leaving her legs completely exposed.
Cian lifted Isabelle's leg and had one of his men hold her thigh down so that she couldn't struggle too much. He then moved the device up her leg until the top layer of pointed teeth rested just above her knee and the other rested under it.
I had no idea what this device did but I knew that whatever it was it was going to be barbaric and likely to make me sick. As if sensing where my thoughts had gone Christian handed me a bag of ginger biscuits.
"Where did you get these?" I whispered trying to not attract attention from anyone but Cian clearly heard us because he turned from Isabelle who was now sobbing.
"What are they?" He sounded suspicious and looked even more so.
"It's ginger biscuits. I have morning sickness so he carries them around with him just in case I get sick." This seemed to get rid of any suspicion he had been feeling as a smile brightened up his face a little and I had to admit, I kinda liked Cian. Sure, I was scared of him and what he could still do to my family but at the same time I understood his anger against us after all if it wasn't for us this would never have happened to his daughter.
"Oh, carry on. We wouldn't want you to get sick but if you do is there a bucket anywhere down here? Cillian brought a black bucket over to me and placed it in front of me and I hated how weak it made me look.
"Don't worry, Ana. This doesn't make you look weak you are carrying a life in your stomach and your body is going through many changes if you need to be sick go right ahead. Just keep your strength up for when it's your time to step up and do your part." Cian winked at me and turned back to Isabelle.
"Right, bitch. Are you ready?" Isabelle frantically shook her head and screamed around her gag as spit joined the tears and blood that covered her face. "Too bad. My daughter wasn't ready to fucking die but you didn't care about that, did you?" Isabelle was trying to say something but the gag was preventing the words from coming out and Gino's screams and the sound of the whip also made it hard to hear what she was trying to say.
Cian began to undo Isabelle's gag and as he did I made the mistake of looking at Gino, and it took everything to hold back the vomit that threatened to come out when I saw the torn flesh hanging from Gino's bloody back and the blood that now covered the tip of the cradle. I also noticed that the cradle had gone in a little further than before and I could only imagine the pain Gino must be in.
It was at that point that Mia dropped the whip and picked up a towel to dry the sweat on her face. "Can someone wake this asshole up? It's no fun if he doesn't scream."
I watched as Luca walked over to Mia smiling indulgently before kissing her and making his way so that he was standing in front of Gino.
I ignored what was happening to Gino unable to stand the shredded skin and turned in time to see what Cian was up to and when I did, I suddenly wished I was anywhere else.
"I was going to let you speak but I doubt my daughter had time for any pleas for her life or time for any last words. Maybe before your time is up I will give you the chance to say a few words."
Cian smiled as he began turning the screws and the device began to close around Isabelle's knee piercing the skin and Isabelle let out a piercing scream. I watched unable to look away as the sharp teeth continued to disappear into Isabelle's knee but the second Cian started to pull separating the knee from the top of her leg, I could hold it no longer and picked the bucket up and emptied my stomach.
Once I had finished and drank almost the entire bottle of water Christian had handed me I turned to Alice to see how she was doing but clearly, she was smarter than me because she had her fingers in her ears and her eyes shut tight.
Cian unscrewed the device smiling as he watched Isabelle's face that showed just how much pain she was in and I had to admit if I didn't look at her mangled leg I could enjoy the pain that was etched on her face.
Cian moved the device over to her other leg and did the same to that one, I was just smart enough this time not to look at what was happening.
After another hour or so and introducing more torture devices that included the wheel which Isabelle had been tied to making her leg look more mangled as Jessica used a fancy-looking dagger to make long shallow cuts along Isabelle's skin. Isabelle was locked back in her chair and Gino's ropes were lifted and tightened so that he wasn't penetrated to the point of death.
"I think we can call it a night I want these two to be kept awake at all times so you will need some of your most trusted men down here when you can't be. I want them to feel as much pain as possible, just keep them alive. I will be back same time tomorrow maybe we can have breakfast next time. I want you to know that not fighting me on this and allowing me to use not just your house but your weapons has gone a long way to creating peace between our families, and that means yours too, Carla."
I had totally forgotten that Carla was here she had been so quiet but when I looked at her it was the first time, I had ever seen her look anything less than perfect. She looked tired, not that I blamed her. We left the room leaving Mark and Connor with Isabelle and Gino and made our way upstairs before saying our goodbyes to Cian and his men, then Carla and hers.
The exhaustion I felt even though it was only late afternoon was bone-deep. "Come, princess. Let me run you a bath and then we can have a sleep you need to rest." I didn't protest as Christian pulled me through the house and up the stairs because what he had suggested was everything I needed right now.
Especially because tomorrow was likely to be a lot more exhausting than today.